A Music Affair: A Christmas Tale
by Gio Poynter
Summary: Amelia is at home with their three year old daughter and some big news, waiting for Owen to arrive on Christmas Eve. But, suddenly she can't contact him and starts to worry about his whereabouts. Sequel one shot to the A Music Affair series. Fluff and family moments/Alternative Universe.


Owen was tired. No, not tired. He was exhausted. It was December 24th, morning of Christmas Eve and he had been standing in line for about twenty minutes only so he could get in a store and see if they had the Cinderella castle Melody wanted so much. The goddamn marketing team for that toy thought it was an amazing idea to release it only one week before Christmas and show its commercial on every channel so that kids would freak out about it and then parents had to run to the stores and buy every single one of those, hence why it was almost sold out. And Owen and Amelia had been really busy with Christmas concerts, performances and appearances on talk shows, so they didn't have time to look for that castle in every store they knew and that's why Owen was waiting in line, 'cause he was absolutely getting his daughter that damn castle.

The thing was: Owen was in Washington, DC - where he had been for a week, volunteering at an army fort and participating with other artists in a Christmas concert project for army soldiers and their families, which was also being transmitted to the deployed ones - with a flight to Los Angeles leaving in less than two hours and, although the store was near the airport, he still had to take a cab to it and check in. So, he didn't know for how long he could stay there waiting for the store to open.

Everything was a whole mess, he was supposed to be home already, but his original flight was delayed five hours and he had been stuck there, waiting and waiting. All Owen wanted was to come home to his beautiful wife and his adorable three year old daughter, but everything seemed to be going wrong, apparently.

Picking up his ringing cellphone, Owen let out a sigh of relief when he heard Amelia's voice.

"Hey, babe."

"Hey, is everything okay? You sound stressed." She pointed out.

"Well, after having my flight delayed for five hours, I'm currently standing in line just to get in a store and see if they have the Cinderella castle Melody wants so much, which is probably already sold out. And I'm running out of time, since I have to head to the airport in half an hour. So yeah, I'd say I'm pretty stressed." He closed his eyes, massaging his temple.

"Oh babe, I'm so sorry." Amelia said, sympathetic. "But you know you don't have to buy this castle, right? Mel has probably already forgotten about it. And even if she hasn't, it's not a big deal. We can say Santa was out of stock or something and get one for her after Christmas, when all of this fuss calms down."

"No, Amelia, I can't." Owen shook his head, even though she couldn't see him. "Did you see her adorable little face when she gasped at the commercial and then politely asked me to buy it for her? And then I said we should ask Santa and she got even more excited? How could you say no to that face?! She'll be really disappointed if she doesn't get this castle."

"You're too whipped." Amelia commented, laughing at his huge devotion to their daughter. "Okay, then, but please don't miss your flight because of this castle. It'll be worse if you're not here to wish Mel 'Merry Christmas' in person than not buying that stupid toy."

"Okay." He agreed, chuckling.

"Also, I miss you like crazy." Amelia commented, a sad tone in her voice. "And I wanna wish you 'Merry Christmas' in person too."

"Hmm, does that include some extra activities in the bedroom?" Owen whispered to the phone, so people in line wouldn't hear him.

"Stop being so dirty, we have guests tonight." She giggled.

"Okay, okay..." He laughed. Noticing some movement, Owen decided to say goodbye. "Oh, the line is moving, babe, I gotta go now. I'll be there around lunch time, so cook me something good, will you?"

"Me and cooking in the same phrase? Are you insane?" Amelia joked.

"Yeah, I think I am." He giggled, finally getting inside the store. "Okay, bye. I love you."

"Love you too." She said, before hanging up the phone.

Without being able to take the smile off her face, Amelia looked down to the pregnancy test in her hands, focusing on the positive sign on it. They had talked about having another kid a few times and had started trying for it only two weeks before Owen left for DC, but she didn't know it'd happen this quickly. Amelia couldn't wait to tell Owen the news later, it would be the best Christmas present ever.

"Mommy, can I watch TV?"

Amelia looked up at her three year old standing in the doorway of the bedroom wearing an Elsa costume, one of Mel's favorites. Her strawberry blonde hair was loose, going up to her shoulders while a blue tiara stayed firmly on the top of her head. Melody had woken up one hour before, quickly asking to be put in those clothes, and had been playing with her toys quietly in her bedroom, across the hall from Amelia's.

"Sure, sweetie, but in the living room, okay?" Amelia suggested, so she could keep an eye on Melody whilst cooking.

Getting up from the bed and putting the pregnancy test inside one of her drawers, she took Melody's hand, helping the toddler down the stairs.

Amelia decided to make a quick and easy chicken casserole, since it'd be just the three of them. Right after putting it in the oven, she heard her daughter calling her.

"Momma! Momma!" Melody jumped up and down, excitedly pointing at the TV whilst holding a Flounder, the fish from The Little Mermaid, stuffed toy in the other hand. "Sing!"

Giggling at Melody's most common request, Amelia went up to her daughter, sitting on the couch and putting the toddler on her lap.

Melody was watching Frozen for what was like the 20th time and was asking Amelia to sing For The First Time In Forever (Reprise) with her, Amelia singing Anna's parts while Mel murmured Elsa's, as always. Of course, she did as she was told. Amelia could complain about Owen spoiling Melody all she wanted, but the truth is, she did the same. Nobody could say no to that little face.

Ever since Melody understood that Amelia and Owen's job was to sing, she'd constantly ask them to do Disney songs with her- the acting and everything -, which they would never admit to anyone, but did it anyway. Since her passion was Disney princesses and she'd realized her mom's voice could be like theirs, Melody asked Amelia to do the songs more often than she did with Owen, even having settled for Amelia to do Part Of Your World as her bedtime lullaby.

It was really weird for Amelia to have such a girly daughter, addicted to princesses and all kinds of dolls, the complete opposite of what she'd been like as a kid. Amelia was never into pink, dresses and jewelry, but now that she had a daughter who loved those things so much, she felt completely dragged into that world and had actually realized that it wasn't so bad. Having Melody with a totally different personality from hers was actually quite interesting, even more for Owen, who came up with a different doll and stuffed animal everyday. And, at times, when she was singing disney songs with them, Amelia actually found herself having more fun than she imagined.

As the song ended, Amelia started to kiss and tickle Melody all over, to which the girl giggled loudly in a high-pitched sound, trying to dodge herself from her mother.

"Hey pumpkin, you know what we should do?" Amelia raised her eyebrows and opened a huge grin in order to excite her daughter even more.

"What?" The girl asked, already thrilled.

"We should make a gingerbread house for when daddy gets here!"

"How do you make it?" She asked, her little eyebrows joined in a confused look.

"Well, we already have the solid ginger parts, so all we have to do is decorate all over it." Amelia explained to her. "We can add icing, chocolate, jelly beans, gummy bears... Anything you want. How does that sound?"

"Good!" Melody jumped up and down, running to the kitchen as Amelia followed her, a smile on her face as she placed her hand on her still flat belly. She really enjoyed having those family moments with Mel, Amelia loved her daughter more than anything. And, soon there would be another one to add to the mix, so she couldn't be happier.

When they were finished with the gingerbread house, Amelia checked that it was already noon and she hadn't received any phone calls or text messages from Owen saying he was leaving the airport, like she had expected. After waiting a little bit longer, she decided to have lunch with Melody, since she had to eat on time.

At 2 pm, Amelia started calling him, going straight to voicemail instead. When she was about to call him once again, the doorbell rang.

Expecting to see Owen, Amelia's smile fell when she saw Maggie standing in the doorway.

"Merry Christmas Eve!" Maggie exclaimed, then realizing Amelia's expression. "Wow, sorry if I'm being such a bad friend by arriving early to help you with dinner." She said, sarcastically, as she entered the house carrying two covered plates with what seemed like food in them.

"Sorry, I thought you were Owen." Amelia apologized, a little distraught. "He said he'd be here around noon and he still haven't arrived. I call him and it goes straight to voicemail."

"Well, I'm sure his flight was delayed or maybe he got stuck in traffic." Maggie reassured her, distractedly going to the kitchen and uncovering the plates she had brought. "Could you put these in the fridge?"

"Yeah, maybe..." Amelia agreed with what Maggie said as she did what her friend requested, trying her hardest to believe those words and leave her concern behind.

"Hi, sweetie!" Maggie greeted Melody, who was drawing in her high chair near the kitchen island, as soon as she arrived in the room.

"Auntie Maggie!" The girl raised her arms at her godmother, asking to be lifted up. "Look what we made!"

With Melody in her arms, Maggie loudly gasped, demonstrating amazement at the gingerbread house the toddler was pointing at.

"That is beautiful, Mel! You're such an artist!" She exclaimed, high-fiving the little girl.

Amelia observed their interaction, giggling. Maggie was such a great godmother, it was one of the best choices she and Owen had made. She would for sure take Melody to go shopping for makeup and dresses in the future when Amelia wouldn't feel like it, which was great.

* * *

It was 6 pm and she still had no news from Owen. All of her calls went straight to voicemail and Amelia had a million thoughts in her head. She tried not to think about it, distracting herself with Melody and the guests who were starting to arrive, but she couldn't avoid thinking that something was wrong.

Trying to get those negative thoughts off her mind, Amelia went up to her bedroom and picked up the pregnancy test so it could calm her down.

"Hey, April is asking where you keep your baking trays..." Maggie started to ask when she entered Amelia's room, but stopped when she saw her sitting on the bed and noticed what was in her hands. "Is that...? Oh my God, are you...?"

Amelia looked up, a sad smile on her face as she nodded to her best friend.

"Oh my God, Amelia!" She went to the bed and hugged her tight, then noticing her expression. "But wait, why aren't you happy?"

"I am... I mean, I was so happy when I found out this morning, but now I'm starting to freak out a little about Owen." Amelia opened up, looking down. "I have no idea where he is! He said he'd be here 6 hours ago, Maggie. And his cell phone goes straight to voicemail. I don't know, I'm scared that something happened. The weather is terrible, the roads are slippery, maybe..."

"Hey, hey!" Maggie interrupted her before she spoke what she was thinking. "Let's not lose it, okay? I'm sure everything is fine. There's a million possible reasons as to why he's late, so let's just stay calm."

Amelia nodded, taking deep breaths.

"Now focus on the fact that you're having another beautiful baby!" Maggie put her arms around Amelia, embracing her. "Mel is gonna be a big sister, can you believe that? It's gonna be the cutest thing ever."

"Yeah, it is." She smiled at the thought of it.

"Okay, now let's head downstairs. You're gonna help me and April cook dinner and clear your mind off a bit." Maggie stated, pulling her off the bed.

All of the women were in the kitchen finishing Christmas dinner, April running the show while Maggie and Amelia helped and Meredith chopped vegetables on the kitchen island.

"This is sexist." Maggie commented, looking at Jackson, Nathan and Derek all sitting on the couch watching the reprise of some game while drinking beer.

"I agree." April said, then shouting at her husband. "Jackson! You said you would help!"

"It's an important game, April! And I didn't have the opportunity to watch it before." He tried to explain himself. "Plus, we have to watch the kids."

"Yeah, right, blame it on the kids." She muttered, seeing that Melody and Harriet were quietly playing with their dolls in a corner while Samuel played games on April's iPad. Zola, who Meredith and Derek had adopted a few months before, with just a year and a half old, played with her little toys on her father's lap.

"What can I do to help, ladies?" Richard approached the kitchen, rubbing his hands in excitement to do something.

"You can go and change into the Santa outfit." Amelia told him, trying to hide him from the kids' sight. "And don't let them see you before that. Otherwise, when you're dressed up, they'll notice someone's missing and will probably put two and two together."

"Amelia, they're too young to put two and two together." Meredith laughed.

"I don't know, Samuel is already six and is a smart kid. Maybe he does." She shrugged.

"Do I really have to get in those clothes?" Richard moaned.

"Yes, you do." Maggie insisted, pulling him towards the bathroom. "Think of how bright their eyes will shine when they see you! You'll be giving these kids the best Christmas ever!"

"Yeah, alright, alright." He agreed, rolling his eyes.

Dinner was supposed to be served at 7 pm and, although all of the food was ready, they decided to wait an hour longer for Owen. Amelia still tried to call him incessantly, losing count of how many times she did it, but still got no answer.

"Mommy, where's daddy?" Melody, who now wore an Aurora outfit, approached Amelia as she set the table, asking her the same question for the third time that day, since her mom had told her he'd be there by lunch time and he still hadn't showed up. Amelia looked at the living room, where Richard, dressed as Santa Claus, was sitting on a chair with Samuel and Harriet, each sitting on one of his legs. The children seemed to be thrilled about it and yet, her daughter was anxious enough about her dad to ignore Santa and go to her mom asking for Owen.

Sighing and not knowing what to answer, Amelia got down on her knees so she could be at Melody's eye sight.

"Daddy's had some problems and that's why he's late, sweetie." She made an excuse, not wanting to make false promises, but without any other answer to give her daughter. She wanted some answers for herself too. "But he'll be here soon, okay?"

"But I want him now!" The toddler crossed her arms against her chest as tears started to form in her eyes. "He's not seeing Santa!"

"I know, baby, I know." Amelia sighed, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. "Why don't you go back to Santa in the meantime, huh? I'm sure Dad will be here at any minute now."

The little girl sniffed, thinking about it and then nodded her head, heading back to where all the kids were.

"Okay, now let me talk to your parents for a minute, alright?" Richard, doing a low voice as he seriously tried to stay in character, told the children while getting up and joining the group of friends gathered near the dinner table. "So, should I give them their presents now? Of course they won't open it, but just to do the delivery already."

"Of course." Jackson laughed. "Thanks for doing this, Richard."

"My pleasure. The kids are amazing."

"Here you go." Jackson picked up two big wrapped up boxes he was hiding in a corner and put them inside Richard's huge red bag. Meredith did the same with Zola's present, looking at Amelia and waiting for her to give Melody's present as well.

"I... I don't know. Owen was supposed to buy Mel's present in DC, but I don't know where he is and I can't talk to him either..." She sighed, running her hand through her hair in frustration. "I guess we can take one of the presents me and Owen were gonna give her and tell her it's from Santa, that he couldn't get the castle she wanted..."

"There's no need." They all turned their gaze to the voice coming from the dining room entrance. "It's right here."

Owen gave Richard the big box with Melody's castle and sighed in relief, a smile on his face by finally being home.

Before Amelia could say anything, Melody noticed her dad's presence and came running from the living room.

"Daddy!" She screamed in her high-pitched voice, a grin from ear to ear, thrilled to see her father again.

"Hey, princess!" Owen opened his arms wide and lifted her up, hugging Melody as tight as he could. "I missed you _so_ much. Did you miss me?"

"A lot!" Melody answered, her little chubby hands on his face as she beamed at him and Owen kissed her cheek repeatedly.

Putting her on the floor, he turned to Amelia, waiting for her embrace only to be surprised by a push on his chest.

"Where the hell have you been?!" She yelled at him, angrily pushing him some more. Owen was stronger than Amelia, so it didn't hurt him, but it did surprise him, since he had been eager for a hug from her.

"I'm sorry, babe, I..." He tried to explain, but was interrupted by Amelia yelling, clearly pissed at him.

"You said you'd be here at noon! Do you know what time it is?!" She growled at him, concern evident in her voice. Realizing that Melody was standing near them, she sighed and lowered her voice. "Dammit Owen, it's Christmas Eve!"

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry." Owen apologized and tried to explain himself. "But it's not my fault, my flight got cancelled and I almost couldn't find another one. My new flight only left at 3 pm and I couldn't call to let you know since the phone services are down because of this blizzard. I also couldn't find any public phones, I don't think those exist anymore..."

Owen stopped talking when he felt Amelia's arms embracing him in a tight hug.

"I missed you." He said, face buried in her hair as he took in her scent.

"I missed you too." She replied, still in his arms. It felt silly to miss him so much, since he only had been gone for a week, but Amelia just felt a bit empty whenever Owen wasn't home with her and Melody. "You got me worried there for a bit."

"I know I did." He chuckled, kissing her on the cheek before leaving her arms and greeting their friends. "At least I arrived in time for dinner."

After they had dinner, the group watched as "Santa Claus" gave presents to the kids, telling them to only open them in the morning, and said his goodbyes, claiming he had to visit other children. Soon, Richard was back, faking excitement as he said he had "met" Santa on his way back to the house.

Throughout the night, everybody chatted and sat down to watch How The Grinch Stole Christmas until the kids started to get a bit sleepy and the parents decided it was time to leave.

Tucking Melody into bed while Amelia watched from the doorway, Owen kissed his daughter's forehead as she tried her hardest to stay awake.

"Daddy, I met Santa!" She exclaimed in a whisper.

"Yeah, you did, princess." He stroked her cheek, smiling at how adorable she was.

"He's very nice." Melody said between yawns, rubbing her eyes.

"He is, isn't he?"

"You saw the house?" She asked, talking about the gingerbread house she had made just for him. "You weren't here."

"I did see the house, it was gorgeous." He reassured her. "And I'm sorry I wasn't here, Mel. It won't happen again. I promise I'll always be present, okay? You can trust me on this."

"Okay." She nodded, slowly closing her eyes as she let herself doze off to sleep. "I love you, daddy."

"I love you too, princess." He kissed her on the cheek before taking one last look at his daughter and closing the bedroom door.

Owen couldn't even begin to explain the amount of love he felt for Melody. He had always wanted to be a parent, but had never imagined how strong the feeling actually was. He wanted to protect her from everything, to be the best dad he possibly could for her. Melody made him unbelievably happy, the past three years being the best ones he had ever had. Every little smile, hug, a new interest or word she learned made him feel like the proudest dad in the world, certain that his daughter was a genius and would do great things in the future.

Feeling Amelia's hand take his when they were finally alone, he looked at her, affection in his eyes. That woman had given him everything he ever wanted and was afraid of not getting: Love and a family. He still couldn't believe this was his life, an amazing career and a beautiful family. Grateful just wasn't enough to describe how he felt.

With his hand on hers, Owen felt Amelia pulling him to the bedroom, her lips meeting his the minute she closed the door behind them. It wasn't a desperate kiss, but a gentle and sweet one, with a want to enjoy every second of it, considering it was the first time they kissed since he had arrived.

"Hi." Amelia smiled, looking into his eyes, her hands on his cheeks.

"Hi." He smiled back, kissing her again, but this time, deepening it.

As his tongue met hers, Owen lifted her up, grabbing her bottom, Amelia's legs tight around his hips.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed with Amelia still on his lap, Owen ran his hands inside her sweater, squeezing the sides of her hips as they continued kissing. Only separating their lips when they needed air, the couple stared at each other, lovingly.

"I have to give you something." She bit her lips, trying to contain her smile.

"What is it?" He asked while she stood up and went to one of her drawers.

"Well, I know it's not the 25th yet, but I can't wait to give you my first present." She explained, picking up the pregnancy test with a red bow on it and handing it to him, excited to see his reaction.

Realizing what it was, Owen widened his eyes, looking up at her and then back at the stick, a grin going from ear to ear on his face.

"You're..." He tried, but couldn't even say anything due to his excitement. Standing up, he lifted her from the floor and twirled with her in his arms, filled with happiness. "Oh my God, Amelia!"

Putting her back to the floor as she giggled at his reaction, he pulled up her sweater a little bit and leaned towards her belly, kissing it multiple times.

"We're having another baby..." She smiled when he stood back up, caressing his hair with her fingers. "Mel's gonna be a big sister."

"God, I love you so much..." Owen sighed, before kissing her intensely, showing Amelia how happy she made him.

Even though Owen was a composer and worked with words for a living, there were times that his emotions were so strong that he couldn't say anything, no matter how hard he tried, times where only his facial expressions could tell how he actually felt. Owen was not much of a talker, not knowing how to express his feelings very well, but there were times where he just felt like shouting from the rooftops for the world to know how happy he was. And they were times exactly like this one.

* * *

 **Reviews?**


End file.
